Oatmeal+Flour+Sugar+Toddler

Today has been a long day. I'm sick and not feeling up to doing a whole lot, my daughter is getting bored easily. So what to do....tried coloring with her, did our preschool work, playdough, babies, but kids do better moving and staying active when they see you staying active. When your stuck to the couch trying to rest and get better, well they want to just lay around and watch TV. In our case resulting in behavior going down the drain. So cookies!

As I was setting up to make cookies the worst thing possible! NO BUTTER!!!!! AW! I had already told her that we would be making cookies, she was dancing around the kitchen and I couldn't break the news that we couldn't because we didn't have butter. So I looked and looked for a no butter recipe that didn't sound horrible, found one and adapted it a bit. We poured, counted, mixed, giggled...we made cookies. Add a little heat and snack time was ready.

Dairy Free Oatmeal Cookies

1.5 C Flour

1.5 C Oats (if you want thicker cookies I would add 1/2 C)

1tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

3/4 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2C White Sugar

1 C Brown Sugar

1.5 C Oil

2 Eggs

1.5 tsp Vanilla

Preheat the oven for 350, after mixing the dry add the wet ingredients (it mixes really easily), roll into balls and place on lined cookie sheet, bake about 10min (until golden brown).

The cookies look thin and look like they would be crispy, but if you keep a close eye and don't let them overcook they are very moist! Enjoy!

The Adventure Continues!

So day two of preschool had a bit more adventure to it! Not only were we implementing a new thing into our routine, we had my little 3 month old nephew spending the afternoon with us while his momma had her first day back to work. So in the middle of preschool, we had the need to carry a baby, feed a baby and oh the diapers lol. Its been a while since my daughter was so little, its a lot of work lol! But then again so is a 2 yr old! Just different work.

Anyway, we made it! School went off much better, I had more activities planned throughout the day and we had less whining. Though, as I was getting dinner ready the whining for Dora began. But after she got the clue I wasn't budging she went and picked up playing a make believe game again.

Today, she learned more about "A," she colored and cut it out. Cutting is a huge deal, and when I was teaching gosh it was the ONE thing NO ONE KNEW! And it was frustrating to have a class of 30 kids who didn't know how to hold the scissors or how to use them. It takes a lot of practice, so practice is what we have done. This isn't the first time she has used them, but the first time I've made her cut on the line. She did pretty well in my opinion! We made patterns with beads as we made necklaces.

Exhausted, but I think the pregnancy has a lot to do with it. We end today, one day further into preschool, a happy child and a happy mommy! Tomorrow I actually have to head to work outside the house and she will go to her public preschool, she has so much fun, and Friday we will begin again at home!

Adventures in Preschool

So it may not sound like much, but the task of preschool and keeping a almost 3 year old entertained for a day, and day after day...well its daunting at times. Sometimes they are easy to entertain while other times there is no attention span to speak of. Yet it is exciting to see them learn and grasp topics. I felt we had a head start, she knows all her shapes and colors, she can count to 20 (sometimes 25 depending on the day), she knows how to spell her name and she can color in the lines!

Today wasn't easy tho, no TV, music time, and lots of play. After a long 3 day weekend with daddy and WAY too much TV time, my child wanted nothing to do with anything, except beg to watch Dora. I would get her attention for a max of 3 minutes and the begging and whining would begin again. Yet with diligence and a smile we would move onto something else. We began with "A" today, not because its the first letter of the alphabet, its an easy one to write. Posted her art of "A" on the wall to reference during the day. We worked on flash cards, which she actually loved, played with the duckies, did puzzles, painted, colored. Tried to dance. Played baby, played in the tunnel, played. All in between each step whining and complaining about wanting to watch Dora. I asked her several times today if she was having fun, and a big smile would go across her face and she was say yes. I'd ask her why she needed to whine if she was having so much fun...who knows.

It was a trying day. I feel exhausted. I was whined at all day, I was bargained with, and had manipulation attempts tried on me. However, we made it through our first day of preschool with organized learning activities. I didn't come into today expecting her to sit down for long spells, didn't expect her to instantly learn everything I presented her today. No, I came in hoping she would get something out of it and would have fun. Did I expect all the whining, no. And I am disappointed that she felt that need to do that, however, I am proud of her. She learned, we made it through day one of preschool!

And onto day two...after hopefully a good nights sleep! But that is a whole different story!